Haji Malang the Hijra Paradise

Haji Malang the Hijra Paradise, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

Year after year despite all odds I come to Haji Malang Kalyan , I climb a mountain bare feet , when I say climb , I dont merely walk, I take a rough path, my feet diabetic by nature bleed , but I move ahead what I shoot on this path I include as street photography.. the unending street of Life.

As a photographer I have miles to go, as technology keeps changing I shoot with a single camera Nikon D80 though my mentor Dr Glenn Losack MD has sent me another D80 body, I dont envy the sizzling equipment that other photographers possess.. because the greatest instrument is the camera of the mind ..pictures come you dont need to go to the mountains sometimes the mountain comes to the photographer too.

Earlier photographers from big camera clubs looked at me with disdain as I called myself a photo blogger ..Fuck I gave free what they sold as commerce , this is what hurt the Marwari stock library man too..but who cares philanthropy is sharing ones culture and I have done just that for over 5 years on the Internet.

I dont begrudge photographers who make money it is their prerogative I chose Photography as a means to attain peace and holistically use it as a medium of Healing..I need money badly , to cover my rising liabilities but I try to make it through my only source of income- Tailoring clothes.


I shoot shit literally ..you see it as pictures on the viewfinder of your mind.. why I shoot shit is a question for me and my mind only. I am not into Fuck F stops and nor into Fuck Vision or Fuck anything else..

I shoot because God had been kind to me , I show you his world and how unkind we are to God most of the time..

I once shot beggar Muslim women I could undrape their pain from the hijab on their faces of course such was the power of my minds lens , but now I am tired , nothing can change the regressive Muslim world.. Screw Human rights the rights of a women is a totally neglected feature I see around me, I talk about my surroundings and not your petro dollar littered back yard....


I shot their depressing state but it gets more depressing day by day..and than I wonder that the hijra wants to be nothing but a woman ..yes I shoot Hijras and show you their positive karma..I find hijras more at home with the reality of their godforsaken lives they rise , they get rich but it is through their struggle only and not because of mainstream society..

Now I will tell you I met a very rich man retired he has taken Fakiri, but wants to bed a hijra so he whispered this in my ears and I just kept quiet..I dont condemn or pre judge..its his choice..but I cant pimp for his obsession , that is why I deleted a lot of Facebook contacts kept my chat offline ..
At Flickr I dont add people who maybe trans gender and are into pon groups or have naked pictures as favorites I am not interested in seeing how endowed you are I dont need to re act like Sharukh Khan. and the print out of his Xrayed body part .

Sexuality as charter is what you are in the dark..

I will now give you a Facebook dialogue between me and a person who sent me a message I did tell him I would blog his messages ..they touched me a lot and I like to share it with all of you..

Lets call him B

His message
February 12 at 3:49am
I really like your great work for Hijdas, I highly appreciate it, These are one of the most neglected people in our society. i am the admirer of hijdas so I am sending you a friend request. I hope you will make your friend at face Book. thanks

Me

Firoze Shakir February 12 at 7:17am
thanks i will , but hijras is not the only thing that makes up my life ...

B
February 12 at 5:04pm
I know you are a religious shia, who perform matam and all those things. Plus you have covered soofisim also through different shrines. Not only this you also covered other religions like Hindusisim and Christianity. But my point is to my knowledge no other professional photographer give importance to the most neglected community Hijras. As I am from Pakistan, they are really in miserable condition. To my observation Hijras in India are in better condition than in Pakistan, maybe i am wrong also.
Wish you all the best for your all good work.
Take care

Me
thank you wish you well
take care
might use your words without your name on my post..

B
Sure plz as you feel comfortable
Wish you all the best

Me

Firoze Shakir February 12 at 9:03pm
thanks

B
You are very welcome. Whenever you visit San Francisco in USA. Please let me know. I like to meet you.
Take care


Firoze Shakir February 13 at 12:22am
dont think it will ever happen entrenched in mumbai but happy where i am //

So now you know what a photo blog can do to two souls millions of miles away..though I know wife thinks if my blogs bought in money she would be more amiable kind than she normally is..and my spots my stripes are at war with my restless soul..

Beauty Lies In The Eyes of the Beloved

Beauty Lies In The Eyes of the Beloved, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

118,009 items / 767,257 views

I could never stop shooting her, I paid tribute to her spirit of survival in a world inhabited by wolves , she was vulnerable and fragile.. she hardly spoke her silence was the bedrock of her grace her dignity and her personality..yes I present you Khushi Hijra from Mumbai..

god tried
but the third gender
he failed to make
but man created the hijra
from his broken rib
for humanity's sake
two parallel lines
yet another line
its existence staked
a thought even
the draconian
article 377
could not forsake
the hijra soul
with demonic power
it did try to break
lusterless lyrics
tears keeping
the hijra awake
dancing
on the soul of love
like a writhing
dying snake
slithering silence
some heart ache
by not creating the hijra
god did not
make a mistake
he created man woman
tired he took a break
the hijra
real unreal or fake
a rose is a rose
is a rose
hijra for namesake
haji malang beckons
summer time
snowflakes

dedicated to my guru laxmi narayan tripathi..

Simran Dancer

Simran Dancer, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

Simran Dancer is an Indian trans gender we first met at a private party of a close friend ..we lost touch, and than we met again while I was coming down to Mumbai from Ajmer , we became good friends.

On reaching Mumbai she invited me to her birthday party , at Madh Islands I presented her a string of turquoise and I never knew that blue enhances her personality..

Than we kept meeting at Haji Malang , this trip she had found her dreams , she was very happy, and had come to terms with her life.

Simran dancer is a very beautiful person ,a friend to love and cherish,she is there for you, at your time of need..this is what I gathered from my Sufi instincts..

On this same post I had written some glorious text about her all disappeared this is a new problem plaguing my blogs at Flickr and my uploader crashed once again..while I slept..

If a photographer cannot upload his pictures how does he blog..and I doubt the Flickr developer or You Telecom my internet provider will ever answer this..I pay You Telecom Rs 857 per month for a service that sucks and is unsatisfactory in spite of all their efforts.

My pro membership to Flickr for two years was paid by my mentor Dr Glenn Losack MD..I dont use my blogs my pictures or my pedestrian poems as a second source of income so it hits me hard in the guts and my pockets.

Facebook where I post some of my stuff does not have Blogr stats so I dont know how my people view my pictures , but at Flickr the source of all my blogs the daily views is 9000 per day..and this I confess in sheer humility,and it is not my Shia pictures , or my Hindu related stuff or my street pictures they come to see it is purely the hija ethos that gets the maximum blog traffic.

I dont pimp my pictures at Alpha Inventions or Condrun.. I did use them when I started out with great success.. nothing personal.


Pictures any one can shoot , but you must be destined to find Hijras and they should be willing to be shot by you , and so I am lucky to have the blessings of my Guru Laxmi Narayan Tripathi..

She has helped me much her name opens doors and she knows I dont do this for money or fame.. I am a person who has decided to take up Fakiri in later life , renouncing material life forever..once I have paid back my liabilities..

I will give this a shot before I take samadhi.. I do not wish to be buried in a Muslim cemetery for sure.. my body parts I shall donate to Medicine.

Now it really does not matter if you call me a Muslim or call me a Hindu..just read me as a human being is more than enough for me..


I dedicate this blog , my dark thoughts to the soul of a doyen of photography AL Syed of Palanpur who shot some memorable pictures including Indian Cinema , but before his death took up Fakiri.. and came to terms with life and after life..

I bought his book with an introduction by OP Shrama from the streets at Chor Bazar and made it the epilogue of my own life too.

The Ultimate Hijra Experience

The Ultimate Hijra Experience, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

Yes in all humility
I shoot Hijras as a poet...
the inimitable
hija blogger
on the internet
the ultimate hijra
experience
as your gonads sweat
you have it you or
you dont have it yet
at haji malang
the hijras jab we met
surrounded by
studs hulks
toy boys hijra pets
lecherously
masturbating moments
of men as beautiful
as women
endowed without
padded chests
my hijra poetry
like eggs in
a cuckoos nest
hijra beauties
riding on the crest
ethnicity
originality
you wont find
among decaying
decrepit demystifying
transgenders
of the west

You Telecom Has Turned its Back On Me

You Telecom Has Turned its Back On Me, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

My uploading and my browsing is at its worst today, my uploader has crashed over 8 times ..

I went to their Bandra office today but it is the same story day in and day out..'


My message to You Telecom sent today..

Sir your Service is the Worst Today - Urgent

I tried to call Mr Navin Singh on the number I have , I also visited your Bandra office spoke to Mr Umesh, he at least agreed there is a problem at your end , today the uploader has crashed 8 times page does not open , there is a serious connectivity problem I keep telling you but you dont seem to pay heed to my complaint nor have you seriously tried to rectify it, I am not crying Wolf but I am really fed up, visits of your technicians has not helped either..

I am really disappointed I can imagine the pain of the common man subscribing to your service, at least I blog my pain..and yet Help from your end is a million light years away..

Leaving aside Mr Navin Singh nobody has ever tried to address my problem goiing on for several weeks

As Ever
Firoze Shakir .
237303

You Telecom Has Turned its Back On Me

You Telecom Has Turned its Back On Me, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

My uploading and my browsing is at its worst today, my uploader has crashed over 8 times ..

I went to their Bandra office today but it is the same story day in and day out..'


My message to You Telecom sent today..

Sir your Service is the Worst Today - Urgent

I tried to call Mr Navin Singh on the number I have , I also visited your Bandra office spoke to Mr Umesh, he at least agreed there is a problem at your end , today the uploader has crashed 8 times page does not open , there is a serious connectivity problem I keep telling you but you dont seem to pay heed to my complaint nor have you seriously tried to rectify it, I am not crying Wolf but I am really fed up, visits of your technicians has not helped either..

I am really disappointed I can imagine the pain of the common man subscribing to your service, at least I blog my pain..and yet Help from your end is a million light years away..

Leaving aside Mr Navin Singh nobody has ever tried to address my problem goiing on for several weeks

As Ever
Firoze Shakir .
237303

Pyar Kiya To Darna Kiya

Pyar Kiya To Darna Kiya, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

held in the comfort
of his arms
beneath the chunri
hidden from view
lies the man
of her dreams
the hijra world
watching passion
entwined love
suddenly
begins to scream
the hijra world
is in throes
no more
what it seems
men sweating
crotchy seams
voyeuristic rituals
the hijra soul
redeems
oh to be a hijra
says to me a nubile
lad
fuck the world
mainstream
pyar kiya to darna kiya
love gushing erotically
through his androgynous
bloodstream
from the corner of his eyes
the bigot religiously
blasphemes
but the hijra in hijraland
continues with his
daydreams
the hijra soul supreme
woeful much maligned ethnicity
working as a team


dedicated to the goddess hidden from public view
but the queen of my hijra photostream